Point Judith Lighthouse

Point Judith, Rhode Island, has been referred to as the "Cape Hatteras of New England" because the treacherous waters and rocks off the coast have caused so many ship wrecks.

The site was acquired in 1809 from Hazard Knowles and the first lighthouse at Point Judith was built in 1810 by William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was an octagonal wooden tower. The lighthouse was built to mark the entrance to the Narragansett Bay to the north and Block Island Sound to the south.

The wooden tower was destroyed by a storm on September 17, 1815 and was replaced in 1816 by a 35-foot stone tower that was coated with cement. In 1857 the current lighthouse was built to replace the 35-foot stone tower. It was a 51-foot octagonal brownstone tower. The lower half was white and the upper half brown.

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